Monday, September 23, 2013

The Art of Beth and Joe Krush

If you live in North America and have ever read The Borrowers (or any of the four books in the series that followed)...

... then you are already familiar with the art of Beth and Joe Krush.

Mary Norton's The Borrowers told the story of a family of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of an English house and "borrow" from the big people in order to survive.

Diana Stanley was the original illustrator when the book was first published in England in 1952, but when Harcourt Brace released a North American edition the following year, Beth and Joe Krush were chosen to provide the cover and interior art.

Between 1953 and 1982, the Krushs illustrated all five Borrowers books. Yet after nearly 30 years of being so closely associated with Mary Norton's creations, they never met the author - and spoke with her only once - on the phone.